Red Red Ribbons
by Chelle-sama
Summary: Stories centered on the red ribbon seen in Tomoyo's Video Diaries. ExT
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: It all belongs to CLAMP.

Dedication: Circe.

Notes: There are so many things that could have happened; I feel like exploring some of them. Updates will be sporadic, at the very, very, very best. (So don't hold your breath.)

The ribbon comes from one of Tomoyo's Video Diaries, which were not aired with the anime (to my knowledge.) While it could very well belong to Sakura, I, in my infinite madness, choose to believe that it was too long for her short hair and must therefore have belonged to Tomoyo. We also don't know what became of it, which is why I'm happily throwing my wild ideas around the Internet. I'd tell you all to 'deal with my insanity!' but you don't have to; I take my meds.

---------- 

Several years after the fact, Eriol regretted giving in to the urge to wear that red ribbon on his Cheshire tail. It had not been the harmless gesture he'd thought.

Because as Sakura-chan retold the story, apparently remembering to add that detail for the first time, he saw Tomoyo's eyes flick to him for just an instant. She knew. She knew where he'd got that ribbon, when he'd got it, and probably had a fair idea of how.

"That was my favorite," she told him when Sakura-chan left.

Eriol merely held up a hand and went slinking up the stairs. It was still neatly folded in his wallet, hidden behind his id card, where he'd kept it ever since he'd unwound it from Keroberus and called it out through the window.

Sheepishly, he held it out to her as he returned to the drawing room. He considered pointing out that he couldn't very well have returned it without giving away for certain that he'd been behind the whole incident, and he had managed to keep very few secrets from her as it was. He also considered that she might simply give him an arch look and tell him that he hadn't kept _any_, she just hadn't gone looking for some things. She might mistake his silence for guilt instead of amusement, however, so he kept with it even as the ribbon slid from his fingers to hers.

She looked from the ribbon to him, shaking her head. He could see her smile lurking just below the surface. "Tied to your tail?"

"It seemed appropriate at the time."

"I'm sure it did," she sighed, tying it around his wrist.

"It was a lot cuter with the ears and the tail," he told her, staring at the neat little bow.

"If you say so."

"It was," he insisted, nuzzling her cheek with his own, purring to make her laugh. "You had to be there."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers, dedications, and notes may be found in the first part.

------

Tucked far away, in the darkest, least visited places of his mind, Eriol knew why. He knew why he'd kept it that day, why he'd packed it into the front pocket of his carry-on, why he hadn't let Kaho or Nakuru or Spinel see him do it.

But that was the far, dark corner, and it was there for a reason. It would wait. When she was ready, when he had learned that what he really had was just memories of memories and not experience itself, it would let itself out. Until then, the truth would remain tucked away, wrapped up in a thin, red, ribbon.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer, dedication, and notes can be found in part one.

Tomoyo turned the matter over several times as she headed for her bedroom.

----

On one hand, Hiiragizawa-kun's total obliviousness to the situation, his complete lack of curiosity, was suspicious. She knew very well that she and Sakura-san had not been acting normal once they realized that Kero-chan was no longer tied up. She was also aware that Sakura-chan was a terrible liar and she, herself, couldn't act. Hiiragizawa-kun was not blind, nor was he stupid. Even _Li-kun_ would have noticed something was amiss.

On the other hand, she had no proof.

She was irritated with herself for not leaving the camera behind when she and Sakura-chan had gone upstairs. But it hadn't occurred to her until she was in the car that she should have been watching Hiiragizawa-kun more closely. At first she'd been too relieved that he hadn't, apparently, noticed anything unusual. Then she had been too happy to tape Sakura-chan changing two more cards, and so very proud that her friend hadn't even felt a little sleepy after that.

But Kero-chan said he didn't know how he'd got loose. He liked to brag, so if he'd managed it on his own he'd have slipped and said so.

And her ribbon was gone.

It was possible that Sakura-chan would find it somewhere in her room that night. It could be that they'd missed some corner or forgot to check under a pillow or book. She _doubted_ it because Sakura-chan had a small room, but it was _possible_.

What was troubling her as she changed into a nightgown and brushed her hair was why he'd kept it.

It was likely that he could have put it back the same why he'd got it out, completely unseen by her and Sakura-chan. If he'd had to take it out instead of just unwrapping Kero-chan and leaving the ribbon on the pillow, that was. Really, all he would have had to do was untie the knot and Kero would have done the rest. It didn't make sense.

He couldn't give it back to her. What would he say? That he'd found it downstairs? Outside? He couldn't just leave it in her desk or locker. Mailing it back to her was almost out of the question. Besides, how could he explain that he knew it belonged to her? Unless he watched Sakura-chan even more closely than Tomoyo did (and the only one who had managed _that_ so far was Touya-san) he couldn't know that Sakura-san didn't wear such long ribbons. She'd already called him on that; he knew that she was aware of just how closely he did, and didn't, watch Sakura. She knew he really was a gentle person, that he cared for Sakura-chan very much, but she hadn't figured him out completely yet.

It was giving her a headache. By taking the ribbon, he'd have to keep it. He hadn't needed to take it. But he _had_ taken it, and he had it _now_, and he had to _keep_ it. Hiiragizawa-kun was a clever boy, a careful planner. What he'd done was an unnecessary risk, even if he wasn't aware of how closely Tomoyo followed his movements.

Perhaps he'd been too hurried, she thought tiredly. She'd given him very little time, inviting him to join them on a whim. With such short notice he might not have had time to think things through the way she was doing now.

That simply didn't harmonize with what she'd come to expect from him, though.

She felt like she should know why he'd kept her ribbon. It was somewhere inside her, in the back of her head, on the tip of her tongue. She just couldn't seem to bring it into the light of day to get a good look at it.

Well. Well, the thought would come when it would. She would understand his motivations when she was ready to understand. Chasing it in circles, she told herself as she shut off the lights, and losing sleep would be pointless. She needed to have her wits about her when it came to Hiiragizawa-kun, and she could not allow a single little red ribbon to throw her off. She had more, he was a friend, so it was okay if he kept one.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimers, dedications, etcetera, etcetera, see chapter one.

Normally, Spinel wouldn't have pried into Eriol's affairs; he didn't find them to be that interesting, truth be told. His master liked having secrets and plots and they were used to it. But normally, he didn't try hiding those things from his guardians.

Three weeks ago, Eriol had come back from the Kinomoto house with a cheerful story about cooking with his heir and Daidouji-san, a more mischievous story about setting Kerberos loose on the deserts, and a hand nonchalantly in his pocket throughout both. It was a red flag.

A red _ribbon_, actually.

He'd been willing to pass it off at first. Eriol had, after all, mentioned that Kerberos had been tied up in a ribbon. Oversight that he hadn't mentioned that he had felt the need to take it away with him, that was probably all it was. It was a sensible explanation. Entirely possible that he didn't even find it worth mentioning.

Except…he kept his hands in his pockets all the time now, and was strangely cautious when he took them out, as though there was something there he didn't want spilling into view. His reactions to either of them offering to fetch a pen from his backpack for him was a very rigid calm and "No, I'll get it myself, thank you." Every book he read now, every one of them, had a red ribbon marker. Not much, that, but Eriol didn't put those books down. If he was interrupted it went into a pocket; at night, into the drawer of his bedside table. Only when he finished them did they go onto the shelves, and with no sign of a ribbon.

Spinel was a patient creature, though, and the three weeks it took before his master relaxed enough to leave it unattended didn't bother him at all. Because he really was very cat-like, he felt no guilt about spending so much time lulling Eriol into a false sense of security.

It was only for a minute, a classmate ringing to confirm details of a trip out the next day, but it was all Spinel needed. He launched silently from the sofa as the door clicked shut, and landed next to the book his master had finally set down. He could hear Eriol's polite greeting as he hurriedly flipped pages until he found it.

Physically, it was a long, thin, red silk ribbon. After three weeks, it smelt strongly of Eriol – which meant it really had been going everywhere with him. A faint, very faint, scent lingered that Spinel did not know. He _recognized_ it, but he didn't know to whom it belonged. Eriol brought it home with him every day after school and after outings with his friends. Spinel had caught it a few times as they watched from downwind while Sakura changed the Clow cards. It had even been on Keroberus that disastrous day at the school.

From school might have been any of his classmates, a Sunday trip to Tokyo narrowed it down to just friends. Its presence while the cards were being changed meant that it belonged to either Sakura or Tomoyo. That it had been on Keroberus' fur gave weight to it being Sakura's.

However, his observations of the card mistress did not fit with the smell from the ribbon. It was exceptionally feminine; light and floral, quite delicate, with hints of very expensive perfume where its ends might have brushed against the owner's neck. Not precisely what he thought athletic, practical, innocent Sakura would be comfortable with.

More importantly, he didn't get any traces of power other than his master's off of it. Even if it had been new it should have carried something of Sakura's energy if it belonged to her. It didn't smell new, nor did it look new to Spinel's sharp eyes.

Those facts pointed to it most likely being Daidouji-san's.

Three seconds after opening Eriol's book, he shut it again and went back to his own. Fitting himself back along the warm imprint on the sofa he'd just left, he realized that his new-found answers about the ribbon had only brought more questions that were going to be less easily illuminated.

Frankly, Spinel would have been happier if his master's affairs had remained dull.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer, etcetera, can be found in chapter one.

Notes: Rolf Harris had a hit in 1960 with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport."

----

"Eriol? What's this?"

He glanced up from his book to see Kaho standing in the door, a long red ribbon dangling from her fingers. Only the weight of a sleeping Nakuru, who'd sprawled over him earlier with claims of deepest affection and an almost filial duty to express those affections, kept him from jolting out of his chair. He had two options, he thought frantically, and neither truth nor lie would fit. Fake it, a split-second study of Clow's experiences suggested, and hope she'll lead the way to what she wants to hear from you.

"I was wondering where that had gone. Where did you find it?" He forced calmness into his voice. He knew exactly where he'd stored it and it wasn't a place he'd expected anyone to go through.

"In the manual for your cell phone; it fell out while I was going through all the papers you've hoarded away. Why did you have a girls ribbon in there?" Kaho walked over, still holding it by one end. Eriol was tempted to test it with magic to see if he could get away with saying it had belonged to Sakura. What stopped him was not that Kaho would feel that brush of power, but the fact that Daidouji-san had a very strong personality. He was fairly well certain that even after a year the sense of her would still be easily picked up off it.

"Oddly enough, to keep from losing it," he smiled fondly and hoped that most of the truth would be enough to keep the situation in check. "I told you about the day I set Keroberus loose while we were baking cakes at the Kinomoto's home? This was the ribbon he was tied up in. I thought its disappearance would add to the confusion. I'd just got a new phone so I put the ribbon in the manual for safe keeping. Apparently it's been there all this time. I'm sure Daidouji-san has wondered where it got off to."

Kaho had been quiet as he spoke, but now she smiled, looking amused. "You stole Daidouji-san's ribbon?"

"If it gets returned to its owner, it isn't stolen," he replied cheerfully. He reached up and tugged the ribbon out of her hand, resisting the urge to sigh in relief as she let it go. "I suppose I should send it off with an apology about its long absence."

"When you can," she agreed, turning to leave. "I'm going to finish sorting the rest of those papers. I think you've kept every scrap of paper you ever picked up."

"You never know when you'll need a software registration card or information from an expired warranty. I threw that Beta-Max VCR out years ago for eating the tapes, but its programming manual is probably a collector's item now."

Kaho laughed. "I'm not so sure; it's pretty dry reading." She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder at him. "I'm not going to find any more surprises in there, am I?"

"Not to my knowledge, although I can't make any promises. I don't think I spelled that cabinet against spiders."

"I see. I'll just have to use whatever is handy to defend myself."

"Not the liner notes from the Rolf Harris album I no longer own, please."

Her laughter trailed out of the room and he gave in to that sigh, curling his fingers gently around the ribbon. Kaho was still happy, the ribbon was still there, and Eriol was still whole. Good enough for now.

"You're not really going to send it back, are you?" Nakuru asked quietly, eyes closed as though she was still asleep. "When you saw Mizuki-sensei come in with it I felt like I should change to my other form."

"I was just surprised," he told her, hastily putting the ribbon into his shirt pocket. "That's all."

"You were scared," she disagreed. She blinked up at him, not moving from his lap. "You don't want to send that back to Daidouji-san. You want to keep it, like you wanted to keep it back in Japan." He shook his head and so did she. "You aren't going to do it, either, I can tell."

Eriol didn't say anything. Nakuru was right; he wasn't going to send it back. He'd go out and get her a new ribbon, send it with a note saying it was to replace the one she'd lost due to him, explaining how he had forgot, in all the excitement, to return it to her before he left. Apologizing for having taken so long to remember it at all.

"You can keep it with my ribbons, if you want. But…can I ask why you took it in the first place?"

He fidgeted but couldn't ignore the question. "Because I won't tell her my feelings in case it would make things awkward between us. It's very foolish of me, but I can pretend like it's gift from a her, one like a lover would give to remember her by."

Nakuru sat up, making him wince as feeling returned to his legs. "You know that if Mizuki-sensei finds it again she'll figure out how you feel. If she decides to look for Daidouji-san here, she'll find it; it's still strong. What then?"

"I'm going to seal it." He would rather not have, because unsealed and knowing what to look for, he would be able to feel Tomoyo in the house. Sealed, it wouldn't appear at all. He was growing up and it was time to put away such childish notions. But he'd still have it, a tiny piece of her. It would have to be enough.


End file.
